In the late 1990s, Jimi Hendrix's family managed to win a court battle over the rights to his music, so they set out to make themselves some money by publishing some CDs. The problem was, the vaults had been plundered so thoroughly in the 1970s that there wasn't anything unreleased left. But you can't blame the family for wanting to get their cut, so the first thing they did was compile a bunch of tracks that had previously been issued on the first 3 posthumous Hendrix albums (Cry of Love, Rainbow Bridge, & War Heroes) onto a CD that claims to be a reconstruction of Jimi's vision for his next album, a double disc to be called First Rays of the New Rising Sun. This is a bit of a dodge, of course, because even the liner notes freely admit that nobody could possibly know which songs Jimi would have selected for the album, as there were only 6 recordings he considered near completion at the time he died.
Jimi Hendrix was a perfectionist who worked very slowly, & earmarked certain tunes for repeated tinkering, retakes & overdubs. Because most of them lack a final mix, the songs here have a bit of a ramshackle feeling that reveals their cobbled-together nature. Some of the grungier songs benefit from not having that last layer of polish, like "In From the Storm" with its stomping, proto-metal main riff, or the epic prog progression of "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)." For others, like the heavily Motown-influenced "Earth Blues" (featuring backing vocals by the Ronettes!) or the delicate, glassy "Night Bird Flying," you can't help but wonder what Jimi would have done to push them over the edge if he had lived. The latter especially; with its harmonized guitar leads, tasteful percussion & nimble meter changes, "Night Bird Flying" sounds closer to an Experience song than anything here, but somehow bests them all with its carefully constructed harmonies. On the other hand we get the harmonica-heavy Bob Dylan pastiche "My Friend," which sounds totally unlike anything else Hendrix ever did--it's a curious dead-end for Jimi & it would be weird to hear a whole album of tunes like this.
If there is an element that makes the songs on this compilation better than his work with The Jimi Hendrix Experience, it's Jimi's style expansion to more fully encompass Black music, especially funk & R&B. This advantage can be embodied in a person: Jimi's longtime friend & bassist Billy Cox. Cox is a vastly better bass player than Noel Redding, & his funky, bouncy attack & athletic fretboard runs are always entertaining & even cut through Jimi's most headspinning solos. Also, Jimi finally got a real rhythm section between Cox & the reliable, inventive Mitch Mitchell. Mitch & Jimi's relationship in the Experience was certainly unique, but it didn't allow Jimi the freedom to soar the way the new configuration did. Just listen to the interplay between Mitch's careful swing & Cox's nasty bass distortion on "Dolly Dagger."
There are some weak spots on this album for sure. "Astro-Man" has a great vocal delivery but is hampered by a totally unnecessary homophobic slur in the chorus. Even by the time I got this album in the late '90s, I was very familiar with "Angel" from the "Ultimate Experience" compilation, but the mix included here is subpar--the vocals are too up front & the drum overdubs sound weak & unfinished. But lest this start sounding like a negative writeup: there's no doubt that Jimi & co.'s usual brilliance is all over this record. There's not a bad song on it, but that doesn't mean it really hangs together overall. First Rays of the New Rising Sun is a compilation that really wants to be an album, but it's a pretty unnecessary one for those who have the original 3 posthumous records.
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